Magistrate Denies Bail For 2 Accused Of Passing Fake Francs

Two French men accused of passing $240,000 in counterfeit francs in Cocoa last week were denied bail Monday by U.S. Magistrate Donald Dietrich in Orlando.

Secret Service agents testified at the hearing that the man arrested under the name Yvon Nyotte had several aliases according to an Interpol report from Brussels, Belgium.

Ken Keene, head of the Orlando Secret Service office, said Interpol Brussels identified Nyotte through fingerprints as Philippe Bensaid, 25.

Bensaid was released from prison June 25 in Antwerp, Belgium, where he served time for forgery, trafficking in stolen vehicles and possession of a prohibited weapon.

The Interpol report said Bensaid had been banned from Belgium for 10 years. It also listed his other aliases as Philippe Benssoussan, Phillipe Benoit and Luc Noe.

Interpol had not responded to requests for information on Yvon Pierre Pinot, 26, who was arrested with Bensaid Oct. 29 after a Southeast Bank teller recognized the two men from a warning issued just before they entered the bank.

Secret Service agents also suspect the men of passing 500-franc notes in Orlando, Miami, Jacksonville and Atlanta in recent months.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Hinshelwood argued against granting the men bail because they were carrying forged documents when arrested and Interpol reports were not complete enough to identify them.

Federal public defender Jay Stevens, representing Bensaid, said his client had committed only one known crime for which he apparently served eight months in Antwerp.

Bensaid and Pinot are being held without bail in the Seminole County jail.